Letters will be edited for intelligibility, grammar and brevity. Dear Mr. Non-Recalcitrant Husband I tip my yeshiva hat to you as I’m so glad to see a website like yours. I know and can identify with your situation (similar to mine) and have quietly followed your case for many years. I am currently on the ORA Recalcitrant list and have been for quite some time. My situation is not as bad as yours by any means, but your website is something that is very important to me and many others. It proves that these Agunah Organizations like ORA and Agunah and her Get do not investigate and do not care if a wife is a ‘Moser’ or is an obvious ‘Moredet’ all for the mighty divorce dollar. Your website shows that these organizations will bend and change Jewish law to fit their own need. I still don’t understand why a GETT is that important to these women as no man would ever want to marry them in fear that they might do the same thing to them. I would suggest that everyone examine the list of over 70 feminist Rabbi’s listed on the ORA website. Why would any honest and learn’ed Rabbi want to be associated with a website that violates Jewish law and is an obvious ‘Mamzer’ factory. How embarrassing for our religion and how sad for the true agunahs. Bergmann can easily be the Poster Child for Fake Agunahs. Any chance you might be selling T-shirts with her mugshot? If so put me down for two. You’ve encouraged me to start working on my own similar website. I’ll send you a link when it is up and we can exchange links. Anonymous (but I’m one of the 20 people listed on the ORA site). WEBMASTER RESPONSE - Welcome as the first responder! I have not considered selling mugshot T-shirts, but good idea. If you need any assistance with your website, let me know as I can probably help. Check back here frequently, as I have more plans for expanding this site. Dear Rabbi Yosef Around nine years ago, my husband left to get groceries for our family (2 kids) and never returned. A common occurrence in many families. I made the necessary police reports, and they are still looking for him to this day. Did I see it coming? Probably. Whose fault was it? Both our faults. Do I know where he is? I am not sure, but South America is likely. Am I an Agunah? My rabbi says that I can consider myself an Agunah. But do I want to? I am financially well off. I am 44 years old and don’t want to be taking care of a new husband who will certainly come with his own baggage. Should I wear the ‘Agunah Label’ and try to collect sympathy and charity for the rest of my days? Absolutely not! Too many women these days look at having the Agunah title attached to them like a prize or medal. Especially the women who don’t deserve the label. You have made a very compelling case of Bergmann vs. Sokol, where without doubt Bergmann is a FakeAgunah and claiming Agunah status for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, in this world of pro-feminism, the rabbis and Beth Dins are afraid to stand up to the women or even question the women’s intent. Your page on Alejandro Marconi proves that the largest Beth Din (The Beth Din of America) does not check facts and, due to their carelessness, contributed to putting many Jews in prison. You might think that due to embarrassment, they would close shop and go back to Yeshiva, but nope, they proudly continue down their path for more profit. Have you heard of any stories where a couple came to the Beth Din of America, and were ‘marriage counseled’? Perhaps even saving their marriage? Nope. Not even one! How much money is there in resolving a couple's dispute as opposed to helping break up their marriage? We all know the answer. I could go on for pages, let me just say: When you hear a woman screaming “Agunah” look beyond what they are screaming. In every case I have seen, they are not an Agunah and have an ulterior motive instead. If my circumstances were different and I wanted to be an Agunah, I would be upset with people falsely claiming to be an Agunah. Being an Agunah is an embarrassment, not a title you want to wear on TV and podcasts. A shame that these women didn’t work harder to make their marriage work. It is not always the husband’s fault, it’s the fault of both parents! Chana Schwartz Brooklyn, NY Dear Chana Thank you for your letter. Very sorry about your situation but it appears you have moved forward - Good Job! You brought a new insight to the Agunah issue and I’m sure everyone will appreciate your letter. Rabbi Yosef Dear Rabbi Yosef Why, Why, Why don’t you push Sokol to give Bergmann her GETT and be done with this horrid situation? I’m sure that is all she wants. I stand with women who advocate for “GETT on Demand”. There are always Beth Dins who will annul your marriage by finding a technical problem with the marriage if the husband won’t give a GETT. Karen Green Boro Park, NY Dear Karen, Did you read the IMPORTANT NOTE: on page one of this website? Here it is again. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a non-Jew, woman, or someone who has not studied in Yeshiva, and you believe that your non-Jewish, feminist, or unlearned opinion on Divorce, Mesirah, Genivah, Lushon Hara, Beth Din, Agunah has precedence over the Shulchan Aruch and Talmud, then you need to move on. This is not the place for you. This Important Note is there because we do not live in a “Make Believe World”. As Jews, we have very specific rules that we follow. Just because you don’t like a rule doesn’t mean that rule needs changing. More than likely, it means you don’t understand or have never studied the law, likely due to having not been to Yeshiva. First off, “Get on Demand” has absolutely NO SOURCE in Judaism. Should men make up a “Sex on Demand” rule? You can’t just make things up for your personal benefit and/or profit and expect people to follow it. That is much closer to Reform Judaism. You might think your Secular College opinion is helping when in fact your lack of true Jewish knowledge is only causing more strife and conflict for everyone involved. Sokol has spent over 10 years sitting as a judge on a Beth Din with Harav Nota Greenblatt (a Misidar Gitten). Sokol was also a student at a top Yeshiva in the country and worked for the OU. Locally, he worked at a synagogue as a Hebrew Teacher and taught Bar/Bat Mitzvah (completely volunteer). Sokol also spent over 30 years working with local, state and federal law enforcement including working with the District Attorney’s office. There are many unqualified Beth Dins and Rabbis who will annul your marriage by finding a minute detail to nullify your marriage. Here is a a great idea (sarcasm coming)! Why not everyone just drop the whole GET thing and only get divorced by annulment instead? The Gemora discusses this, and it is not an easy task to accomplish, but for the right sum of money I’m sure you can find a Beth Din who will do it. What if a thief broke into YOUR house and stole your four children along with all your money. Would you do the “Forgive and Forget” thing? Perhaps, just forgive the thief “ to be done with this horrid situation ?” Don’t be easily swayed to the goyasha mentality. Do the Jewish thing instead or consider changing religions. Rabbi Yosef Click on the below links for further information: How to Spot a Fake Agunah Agunah and Recalcitrant Husband List Agunah Questions, Comments and Letters Ten Steps to become a Validated Agunah The Agunah Info Page The American Beth Din Beth Din of America News Psak Din - Writing a Fake Seruv The Seruv List to the Beth Din of America Rabbi Aryeh Dudovitz - Lubavitch Child Molester Alejandro Marconi - Who is this person? Rabbi Ginsberg Ruling - Union of Orthodox Rabbis Blog - Your Comments Ask the Rabbi - Answers to your questions Terms, Notices, and Conditions - A must read for using this site